Have you ever started your day by telling yourself that you’re going to spend the whole day and not lose your temper once? You start off trying really hard. But that’s the day you hit your thumb with a hammer, discover your car has a flat tire, and find out your kids decided to clean out the garage — with the garden hose. And then you wonder what happened to all your good intentions.

The fact is none of us are very successful in changing our behavior, are we? As long as we are trying to do it in our own strength, we will always fail. Galatians 5:16-25 shows us a different way — how we can overcome our bad nature by walking in the Spirit.

This portion of scripture teaches us how to walk the Christian walk. As we follow Jesus, we need to learn how to be led by his Holy Spirit. Being led by the Spirit is called walking in the Spirit. We all want to do what’s right, but sometimes it’s difficult. The reason for this is we have a spiritual side of us that wants to do God’s will, but we also have a fleshly side to us that wants to satisfy its own desires. This verse tells us we must learn to walk in the Spirit.

Barnes wrote in 1870, "Thus it is not merely a command; it is the statement of an important and deeply interesting truth—that the only way to overcome the corrupt desires and propensities of our nature, is by submitting to the influences of the Holy Spirit. It is not by philosophy; it is not by mere resolutions to resist them; it is not by the force of education and laws; it only by admitting into our souls the influence of religion, and yielding ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God. If we live under the influences of that Spirit, we need not fear the power of the sensual and corrupt propensities of our nature."

We see from this verse that we have a war going on inside of us. It is the Spirit that is influencing us to do good, but our old nature, the flesh, is trying to influence us to do what is bad. There will never come a time in this life when we will not have to battle our fleshly desires. It’s important to realize that there will be times when we all will fail. When we give in to the old nature, it is not because we have ceased to be saved. Rather, it’s because the flesh has won the battle that time.

This is why it’s so important that we learn to allow God’s Spirit to take control of our lives. In all areas of our life we must strive to do what God wants us to do instead of what we want to do. This is not always easy. Our old sinful nature has been with us a long time. There have been many occasions when we’ve given in to these desires. Part of the problem is we do what’s bad because we enjoy doing it. But this pleasure only lasts a short time. As we learn to obey the prompting of God’s Spirit, we will learn real joy.

When we are pursuing the desires of the flesh, we are constantly frustrated because we can never be completely satisfied. But when we pursue the things of the Spirit, we discover true peace and contentment. All of us, deep down, really want to do what is right, but our fleshly desires sometimes get in the way. That’s why Paul says at the end of this verse, "you do not do the things that you wish." We want to do good, but we fail because we give in to our sinful nature. The way we overcome this is by walking in the Spirit.

How do we learn to walk in the Spirit? The Bible gives us 8 ways.

1. First we must delight in God’s way. Psalm 37:23, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way."

2. Next, we must allow God’s word to be our guide. Psalm 119:105, "Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path."

3. Third, we must get in the habit of going to the Lord’s house. Psalm 122:1, "I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of the LORD."

4. Next, we must walk by faith. 2 Corinthians 5:7, "For we walk by faith, not by sight."

5. Fifth, we must walk in love. Ephesians 5:2, "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us."

6. Next, we must walk in the truth. 3 John 1:4, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."

7. Seventh, we must not lean on our own understanding but acknowledge God’s leading in our life. Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."

8. And finally, we must go and pray. Matthew 6:6, "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

All the commandments in the Bible, the rules and regulations, are there to reveal to us how we must walk. Of course, none of us are capable of fulfilling all the commandments because we are too weak and stubborn. So these commandments in the Bible, known as the Law, reveal to us how inadequate we are in our own strength. Now the punishment for not obeying God’s commands is eternal death. This is why Paul in this verse informs his readers that if we are led by the Spirit, we are no longer under the curse of the Law. Why is this? Even though we are led by the Spirit, we know there are times when we fail. In fact in the previous verse Paul wrote that we do not do the things that we wish. This is why Paul wrote in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." We deserve death, but God gives us eternal life instead. How do we earn this? We can’t. It’s the free gift of God.

When we are being led by the Spirit, we are depending on God’s strength. If we try to do things in our own strength, we are under the Law and must do all things perfectly. But when we allow Jesus to come into our heart and let him lead us, then we are no longer under the condemnation of the law. Instead, we are covered by the cleansing power of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross. When God looks at us, he doesn’t see all our sins and our faults at all. Rather, he sees the perfect sacrifice of his son Jesus. Not only does God not look upon our sin, but the Spirit helps us along the way — he strengthens us, guides us, reveals God’s truth to us, helps us through times of difficulty, and comforts us when we feel overwhelmed by troubles.

We visited Mercer Caverns when my sons were young children. They take you way down inside the caverns, and then at the deepest point, turn off all the lights. You are standing there in pitch darkness, but you know soon the guide will turn the lights back on. It’s the same with walking in the Spirit. There may be times when it seems like everything is pitch dark around us, but we need to relax and realize that soon the Lord will show us the light and lead us out of the cave of darkness.

We studied these verses in our study on sin. Let’s take another look at this list of all these bad things:

• Adultery
• Fornication —any kind of sexual immorality.
• Uncleanness —any kind of impure moral practices.
• Lewdness —unbridled shameful excesses.
• Idolatry — placing anything in importance above God.
• Sorcery — dealing with the occult, or using drugs
• Hatred
• Contentions
• Jealousies
• Outbursts of wrath
• Selfish ambitions
• Dissensions
• Heresies — choosing a different outlook than God’s.
• Envy
• Murders
• Drunkenness
• Revelries — late night drinking parties

Notice that verse 19 tells us all these terrible sins are "the works of the flesh." This list reveals to us what our flesh wants us to do. This is why it is so important to walk in the Spirit. There is a war raging inside of us. Who wins that war — the flesh or the Spirit — will be determined by us. Which side are we going to nurture and cultivate?

When you are watching an R-rated movie, or a Television show with vulgar language, or reading a steamy novel, or stubbornly demanding your rights at work, or always yelling at your family, which side do you think you are nurturing? But when you are reading your Bible, or praying, or meditating on the goodness of God, or singing worship songs to the Lord, which side do you think you are nurturing?

Notice that the end of verse 21 says, "those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." It doesn’t say that those who occasionally do these things will not inherit the kingdom of God. We all stumble and fail. But if we continually practice these sinful acts, we are in dangerous spiritual territory. In John 8 we are told of the time that the Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who was caught in the very act of adultery. She did what was wrong and deserved God’s punishment. But notice what Jesus said in John 8:10, "Neither do I condemn you." Jesus did not come to condemn us. He came to save us. He understands that we will sin. But then he tells the woman, "go and sin no more." In other words, stop practicing sin. We will fail the Lord from time to time. But we must allow God’s Spirit to guide us so that we no longer continually practice those awful things that pull us down and cause us so much misery and heartache.

In the previous verses we saw the works of the flesh. Now in these verses we will look at the fruit of the Spirit. These are the things in our life that the Holy Spirit will cause to grow as we allow him to minister to us. There are nine items in all. Let’s look at each one.

Love — We will gain a new love for others. We will look at people in a new light with compassion and sympathy. When we love others, our focus shifts to what’s best for them instead of what’s best for us.

Joy — Paul wrote his most joyful letter when he was imprisoned in Rome facing execution. No matter what dark circumstances may surround us, Jesus will give us joy.

Peace — Storms of turmoil, doubt, or confusion may be raging around us, but God will give us peace in the midst of the storm. He will calm our spirit so we don’t fret and worry so much.

Longsuffering — This is another word for patience. We want God to be patient with us, with all our failures and mistakes. But we are so impatient with others. Allow the Holy Spirit to teach you to be long-suffering, to endure even taunts and slander from others with patience and love.

Kindness — This seems to be disappearing from our society. When we’re standing up for our rights and demanding to have our own way, we tend to become inconsiderate and obnoxious. Ask God to help you to be kinder toward others.

Goodness — It’s not popular to want to be good today. The bad boy syndrome seems prevalent. But as we walk in the Spirit, we will discover a desire to be and do good.

Faithfulness — As we grow in the Spirit, we will become more faithful in prayer, in Bible study, in attending church. We will become a reliable employee and a dependable family member. People will learn that they can count on us.

Gentleness — Isn’t it interesting that Paul should include this in his list. There were times in Paul’s life when he wasn’t so gentle, and yet he recognizes the need for it in our Christian walk. There are many Christian activists today who are more strident and militaristic than gentle. We can stand up for what we believe, but we must do it in a gentle manner.

Self-control — This is probably the most difficult thing for us to have and yet the one thing that we need the most. We need self-control not to become angry, not to retaliate, not to over-indulge ourself, not to complain, not to allow discouragement to overwhelm us. Pray that the Lord will help you in this area!

This little phrase at the end of verse 23, "Against such there is no law," points out that all these 9 things come from the Spirit. None of it comes from our own goodness. We cannot be good enough to earn any of these things. We don’t have enough self-discipline or strength in ourselves to attain these. We must depend on the Holy Spirit. We must rely on God’s strength.

Do you want to walk in the Spirit? Then you must crucify the flesh with its passions and desires. Of course, you cannot do this on your own. But the Holy Spirit is with you to help you along the way. Moreover, we must cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes I think we spend more time fighting God than cooperating with him. We want to do things our own way. We keep on trying to work in our own strength. And only when we’ve made a real mess of our lives, do we come to him and find out how he wants to do it.

If you are a believer, you live in the Spirit. The problem is we want to live in the Spirit, but we desire to walk in the flesh. These are contrary to each other. If we want to live our life in Christ to the full, we must learn to walk in the Spirit.

Here are 8 Practical Steps to help you Walk in the Spirit:

1. Pray throughout the day. Have your mind focused on God. Say a short prayer each time during the day when you change activities that God might help you and be with you. When good things happen, take a moment to thank him. When bad things happen, take a moment to ask for his strength.

2. Instead of watching television or listening to secular radio, spend some time listening to Christian radio or play tapes of worship music.

3. Learn to respond to your conscience quickly. Usually, we know when we are doing wrong. Listen to that quiet voice inside, and try to stop immediately and pray for strength.

4. Learn to let go of thoughts which bring up wrong desires. Don’t let your mind dwell on anger, self-pity, lust, or other damaging thoughts. When they come, allow the Lord to take them from you.

5. Don’t react based on your feelings. Rather, respond based on God’s word. If our emotions rule us, then our spiritual side is suppressed.

6. We will grow in the Spirit only as long as we allow our spiritual side to grow. We must spend time in prayer, Bible reading, worship, and fellowship with other believers. When we neglect these things, we will find the works of the flesh will be gaining more and more control over us.

This is not always easy, and there will be struggles along the way, but as we learn to turn more and more of our life over to God, we will slowly discover new-found inner strength. We will find more and more areas of our spiritual life growing, and we will see the old desires of the flesh slowly diminishing in their influence over us. Learn it, practice it, live it. May we all walk in the Spirit!

Footnotes:

All scriptures unless otherwise noted are from the New King James Version © 1982 Thomas Nelson Publishers

This Study on Galatians 5:16-25 © 1997 by David Humpall. All Rights Reserved.

Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament pg. 955